In this second blog I would like to briefly profile some of the ta'unga rutu ete ma'ani pa'u (drum masters) who will be conducting and taking part in the rutu pa'u (drumming) and ma'ani pa'u (drum making) master classes and workshops during the week of RUTU!, which runs for six days, beginning Monday, the 14th of March later this year.
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| Dr Jon Tikivanotau Jonassen |
Dr Jon Tikivanotau Jonassen is a world reknown expert not only in Cook Islands drumming and culture but also other Pasifika cultures. As a young man, Dr Jonaassen or 'Papa Jon' as he's often referred too these days worked as a Cook Islands cultural entertainer in Japan. He was a member of the famed Betela dance group that toured Japan and other countries in the late 60s and 70s.
Dr Jonassen is truly a Pacific renaissance man. A former political science professor at Brigham Young University-Hawaii as well as a former head of the Ministries of Cultural Development and Foreign Affairs--in the Cook Islands, Dr Jonassen is a Japan-trained 5th dan blackbelt in Karate and is a well-known and published author on Cook Islands cultural matters and composer of Cook Islands songs and music.
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| Ota Tuaeu |
Ota Tuaeu like Dr Jonassen, is a former member of the Betela dance group. He also has a broad background that involves mainstream as well as cultural work experiences. Not only is he an experienced Cook Islands drum maker and cultural entertainer as well as musician--he is also a former New Zealand police officer, having served 25 years previously, in that capacity.
In currently undertaking a Master's degree in Applied Indigenous Knowledge at Te Wananga O Aotearoa, Mr Tuaeu has become aware of how the demand for Tamanu wood (here's the Wikipedia link if you want to know about Tamanu)--which is used by various Pasifika and other world cultures for carving--is in danger of becoming extinct. He has become passionate about using other types of wood and timber, ones that are in plentiful supply--for the making of Cook Islands drums and carved craft work.
As part of the drum making master class--Mr Tuaeu will be making a complete set of Cook Islands drums using South American hard woods and ordinarily-available New Zealand materials such as plywood--that will be equally as good, he says, if not better--than a set made from the traditionally favoured Tamanu wood.
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| Jacob Samson |
Hailing from the islands of Manihiki and Pukapuka--Jacob Samson is a well known Cook Islands drummer and cultural entertainer. Mr Samson is the drum master who taught members of the Te Vaka music group the art of Pasifika cultural drumming. He was influential in helping the group achieve a distinctive sound (including cultural drum beats) that launched the group into the realm of mainstream popularity. The drummers of Mr Jacob's cultural entertaining group, the Drums of the Pacific (DOTP) are the drummers for the New Zealand Warriors rugby league team.
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| John Kiria |
Drum master John Kiria is a former professional dancer with years of cultural entertaining experience,that have taken him all over the world. His older brother, Tamarua, is one of the most experienced drum makers and carvers in all of the Cook Islands. Mr Kiria is the leader of the Anuanua Performing Arts Troupe, a professional cultural entertainment group that does the Pasifika and tourist circuit across New Zealand and Australia. John's expertise is in drumming and the coordination of drumming with dancing--in Cook Islands cultural entertainment.
I couldn't think of a better way to end this blog than by posting up a video of some of our drum masters jamming on the drums under the tree in the park next to the Te Tuareka preschool complex on Rowandale Avenue, Manurewa. Special thanks to Gerardus Verspeek for volunteering his camera skills for the video and to Mama Piri Marearai for helping with the set up work.
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